Ukraine is set to gain yet another oligarch-controlled news channel.
Media holding Media Group Ukraina, which belongs to oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, will launch its own news-oriented television channel, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council confirmed to Detector Media on Nov. 7.
Called Ukraina 24, the channel has already received the license needed to operate in the country. It plans to begin broadcasting across Ukraine in December, according to System Capital Management, Akhmetov’s larger holding and the country’s largest industrial conglomerate, which owns Media Group Ukraina.
The channel will air round-the-clock with 15 hours a day dedicated specifically to news programs. Ukrainians will access the channel through cable television, satellite Xtra TV and local streaming platform Oll.tv.
The media holding is currently working on the channel’s detailed broadcasting policy and program schedule.
To create Ukraina 24, the media holding has renewed its license for the Eskulap TV channel that Akhmetov bought in 2015 from unknown owners reportedly connected to ousted President Viktor Yanukovych’s son, Oleksandr. Eskulap TV focused on medicine and non-traditional medical practices, airing mostly in Russian.
To become Ukraina 24, Eskulap will change its logo and broadcasting concept.
The logo of new Ukrainian TV channel Ukraina 24, which oligarch Rinat Akhmetov’s System Capital Management plans to launch in December 2019.
The new channel will add to Akhmetov’s already expansive media empire: his media holding manages such well-known channels as Indigo TV, NLO TV, Football 1, Football 2, and the most popular channel in Ukraine, Ukraina. Apart from TV channels, Akhmetov owns print publication Vogue UA and Segodnya, the third most read internet outlet in Ukraine after Obozrevatel and 24TV.
According to Bloomberg, Akhmetov’s assets are worth a total of $5.5 billion. Apart from media, he invests in metallurgy, mining and energy. He owns power company DTEK and controls a 71.2% stake in closely-held Metinvest, the country’s largest steel manufacturer.
Akhmetov used to be an outspoken friend and ally of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and even served as a member of parliament in Yanukovych’s Party of Regions. Before Yanukovych fled Ukraine and Russia launched its war in Donbas, where Akhmetov had most of his business, the oligarch’s assets were valued at $22.2 billion in 2013, four times more than today.
